[center][h2][COLOR=red]I R O N  M A N[/COLOR][/H2] [img]https://iconbug.com/download/size/256/icon/332/iron-man/[/img][/center]
[COLOR=red][indent][sub][I]Malibu, California[/I] - [I]New Years Day, Early Morning[/I][/sub][sup][right]Issue 1.01.01: The Wee Small Hours of the Morning[/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][INDENT][sub][B]Interaction(s):[/B] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][b]Previously:[/b] [I]None[/I][/right][/SUP][/indent][/color]

Tony shook his head as he sat in the passenger seat of his red and gold luxury car. The driver-less vehicle sped along the winding roads along the Malibu coastline with expert precision, much to Stark's delight as he reminisced about the night he had. To his own surprise, the billionaire had chosen to spend the New Years festivities at Happy's. He had declined a visit on Christmas, and Happy's wife was as hard-headed as her husband. Their son seemed to enjoy his new, state of the art and specially designed drone. The kid didn't seem to mind that the gift was a week late, but Happy was a little pissed that "Uncle Tony" had managed to spoil his boy yet again.

The memories of that night slowly trailed off, though, as Tony's gaze fell upon his home in the distance. [color=red]"JARVIS, go ahead and turn the lights on 50, and filter out any blue light. I think I'm going to go straight to bed."[/color]

There was silence for a moment, before the disembodied British voice replied softly over the car's speakers. [color=gold]"I'm sorry sir, but it appears that I cannot connect to your home system."[/color]

Stark's head cocked to the side for a moment as the car began to slow down, its headlights washing over the circular driveway of the beach-side mansion. His face relaxed from alarmed to annoyed as it was apparent a single black SUV sat parked in the driveway. [color=red]"Go ahead and park her in the garage once I get the connection restored. We've got company."[/color]

The sports car pulled up behind the SUV, and Tony's door swung open on its own as the industrialist moved to exit. He walked with no hesitation in through the front door of his house and straight ahead past the double staircase to the second floor towards the living room overlooking the beach. To no surprise, watching out over the piercing night was a suited man. As the intruder began to turn, Tony called out. [color=red]"You know, you can always just call sometime."[/color]

Rhodey gave a small smile as he nodded and walked towards his old friend. The two shared a short embrace, before James broke away straightened his coat. [color=ed145b]"Happy asked me to come too, but you know how SHIELD is about..."[/color]

[color=red]"Everything?"[/color] Rhodey gave an awkward chuckle as Tony moved towards the bar on the South side of the room. [color=red]"I take it you're not here then to just wish an old friend a happy New Years, then."[/color]

[color=ed145b]"I take it you haven't heard anything about the backdoor in the Legion coding?"[/color] Tony stopped mid-pour of his nightcap, his head cocking to the side but his mouth incapable of making any noise. Rhodey sighed. [color=ed145b]"One of your software engineers, Tyler Rahm, sent an email on January 30th to both you and Ms. Cabe detailing a cleverly hidden backdoor in the current version of the Iron Legion's firewall."[/color]

Tony took a deep breath as he finished pouring his scotch, turning to Rhodey with a quizzical glance. [color=red]"I never got an email from Mr. Rahm, and JARVIS would have notified me the second I got that email."[/color]

[color=ed145b]"The email was deleted in the one millionth of a second between the time the email was sent and the time it would have been delivered."[/color]

Tony's eyes widened for a moment, before he set the drink down and immediately broke out into a hurried pace across the living room. [color=red]"I need you to drop your Fury-branded cone of silence bullshit so I can get JARVIS-"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"We're way ahead of you, Tony."[/color] Rhodey reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small metal disk that he set down on the coffee table in front of him. A large holographic display sparked to life. Glowing with a strange blue light was a map of Europe with a red dot glowing in the Mediterranean off of Greece, the email Tyler Rahm had sent, a digital copy of Tyler's employee badge, and a picture of a car being towed out of the water at some dock. [color=ed145b]"My team has been true to their word in only monitoring Stark Unlimited's premises and email communication. The very second that Rahm's email was sent, our own software was able to intercept and receive the message. A second after we received that email, our server shut itself off from all internet connectivity in response to a hacking attempt. To put it simply, someone really didn't want you to find out about that backdoor."[/color]

Tony's jaw and eyes clenched shut for a moment as he took a moment to compose himself. Tony then opened his eyes and gave a curt nod. [color=red]"You have a lead?"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"Ever heard of Midas Management?"[/color]

Tony was silent for a moment before nodding. [color=red]"Yeah... yeah, private hedge fund. They also provide gold for some of the components I use in the Iron Man suits. You think Midas would-"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"We traced the attempted hack into our servers to a private island owned by Mordecai Midas."[/color]

Tony gave a nod. [color=red]"Alright. What's the plan?"[/color]

Rhodey stood silently for a moment, his gaze lowering to the ground. [color=ed145b]"Midas is untouchable. Waller denied my request, saying that my team can't lead a raid on his private island. Especially given Midas is bankrolling a couple of SHIELD projects until next years budgets are formalized."[/color]

Tony sighed, walking back over the bar to sip on his scotch for a moment. The retired superhero turned his gaze back towards the projections. [color=red]"That's Rahm's car, isn't it."[/color] Rhodey solemnly nodded. [color=red]"Alright. Then I'm going to schedule a meeting with Old Mordy for later this week.[/color] Tony cocked his head back and downed the rest of his drink, using the back of his hand to wipe off his mouth after slamming the glass down on the bar. [color=red]"I'm extending everyone's holiday through next Monday, so I don't want anyone going in or out of Stark Tower in New York until then. Got it?"[/color]

Rhodey nodded. [color=ed145b]"Yeah. I'll let my team know right away."[/color] The two men nodded and made their way out of the living room and to the lobby, with Rhodey only stopping along the way to remove a small magnetized chip from a security panel on the wall. The lights came back on with a soft glow, and the front door swung open on its own as they approached. Rhodey was halfway out the door before he hesitated and looked back. [color=ed145b]"And Tony...?"[/color]

[color=red]"Yeah?"[/color]

[color=ed145b]"Happy New Year."[/color]